Laser eye surgery - six month check-up

I had my laser eye surgery with Ultralase in July 2007, and my six month check-up last Thursday. You may notice that's over six months and that's because I forgot to book my appointment until I got a reminder letter and then I couldn't do most of the available appointment times. Anyway, it's done and my eyes have recovered perfectly.

My appointment was at 8.45pm (how convenient that they offer appointments this late!) and I was in and out in a matter of minutes. My boyfriend hadn't even taken his coat off as I came back out into the waiting room.

All that happened was the optometrist asked me how my eyes were. I said they were a bit tired as it was the end of the day, but otherwise good. He then looked at my eyes under the microscope and said they were fine, I did some sight reading tests (bottom line every time - mistook an F for a P but otherwise spot on) and then he sat back, looked at me and said, "If that's what they're like at the end of the day when you're tired, you must be able to see around corners most of the time!"

So what happens now? I have to go to any optician a year after my surgery to check the health of my eyes and then every two years after that - which is recommended for everyone whether they need vision correction or not. I have a letter from Ultralase to show the optician what I've had done because some of my pressure readings will be artifically low. Visiting the optician regularly was the only criteria I need to fulfill for my lifetime re-treatment guarantee.

Interestingly, when making my appointment with Ultralase recently, I noticed on their website that they now only do Lasik with Intralase (that's when the laser cuts the flap on the cornea as opposed to a microkeratome, the hand-held cutting device). They say this is due to an improvement in safety and results. I can certainly vouch for how good the results are for Ultralasik plus Intralase! It may cost more but my goodness it has worked perfectly for me and the recovery time was incredible - I was at driving standard straight after surgery (except I couldn't keep my eyes open as they were watering so much!)

Day 6 - one week check up

Technically there's only been 6 days since I had my laser eye surgery, but I was told it was fine to book my one week check up on the 6th day.

My appointment was at 11am. This time I was one of the few people in the waiting room who'd already had surgery done. There were a few people who looked to be having first consultations, and one nervous young man who was about to have his surgery performed. He seemed pretty nervous. I felt like telling him it was just a short blip of discomfort, but thought better of it. To be honest I wouldn't have traded places with him for anything. Laser eye surgery was not one of my most enjoyable experiences. I can't imagine surgery whilst awake could ever be. It was worth it though, I know that, I'm just not sure I'd want to go through it again...

I had the same optomotrist as my check up after 24hrs. This time we did a little check of the vision and prescription. The short of it is that I can the line below 20/20 with each eye on it's own, and with both eyes together could make out most of what was really pretty tiny print. I've no idea what the 0/0 number of that was but hey it's not all about the numbers. It's about the night vision, the close up vision, the everyday life vision.

Next he measured my prescription and told me there was no prescription registering in either eye. Yahoo! That made me happy. For the first couple of days after the surgery I'd been worried that my right was a little blurrier than the left, this was clearly where it was healing as it's barely noticable now. And with no prescription there will be no need for retreatment. I have to say I'm breathing a little sigh of relief.

I mentioned about the ghosting around bright things with my left eye and he had a good look with a microscope at both my eyes, spending a little longer on the left so I was sure he'd tell me he could see an infection. But he couldn't. It was all clear he said, but just to be sure he advised me to go back to using my antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops every 2hrs again in my left eye. I'm to do this for a couple of days and then go to four hourly for about four days. My right eye however is fine, and I can stay at four hourly until Friday lunchtime (this will be 9 days after surgery) when my right eye can stop having drops.

I put my drops in my left eye once we got to the car. They do feel more comfortable with the drops more regularly. Right now they're both feeling pretty good. Reading this computer screen is a little bright on a white page, but I'm not squinting any longer. And that's 6 days after laser eye surgery (Ultralasik plus Intralase to be exact).

I really am glad looking back that I opted for the Intralase instead of having lasek. My three hours of discomfort would have been three days. But well if I'd had to go for lasek, I still would have had it done.

Walking past people wearing glasses in the street I feel like saying "You really don't have to you know! Ditch those specs!" I know it's not for everyone. It's a daunting idea. It's one of those situations where you often hear far more about the bad experiences people have than the bad. My mother was always keen to point out that the majority of doctor's still wear glasses, "And why is that? Because they know the risks that's why!" she'd always tell me. But well, I took the plunge and 6 days after surgery my vision is better than 20/20. There's a good experience for you. I'm definitely in favour of laser eye surgery. Provided it's with a good provider, and based on my experiences I'd recommend Ultralase to anyone.

Days 4 & 5

Woke up on day 4 with a slightly dry feeling left eye, I was happy to get the drops in as soon as possible. Other than that everything seemed fine. If anything I think I started taking my new vision for granted and probably pushed it a little bit, read a few chapters of a book and for the first time I had no afternoon nap. Well I've had laser eye surgery, not suddenly become an old aged pensioner!

I washed my hair in the morning on day 4. I sat in the bath and used the shower head as I sat tilting my head back. I got more water on the floor than myself at times it seems but it did the trick. Clean again.

Not wearing make up is starting to frustrate me a little. I don't always wear any, mascara and lip gloss at most really but not even being able to make the effort is getting to me. It's like when I buy new clothes and want to look nice - I've got new eyes and want to go out and make the most of it.

Day 5 my left eye was still feeling a little strange. A little dry. A little blurry up close. I took my dog for a walk and the wind was blowing on my face (I had sunglasses on) and whereas my eye would normally water in the wind, the wind just made my eye feel a little dry. Nothing really to worry about but each time the drops were due I was glad to put them in.

I noticed looking at the cooker clock that my left eye was a little hazy, but only on bright things. The cooker digits are bright green. I wasn't too troubled though because I knew I was going for my check up the next day. Probably overdid it with the computer in the evening, sending emails to my friends to let them know how I'm getting on. I'm taking this all for granted now too much maybe. Time to go back to resting them in the evenings.

I've been getting braver at washing my face in the morning. Instead of just dabbing my face with the water I've gone back to using my soap and toner - but keeping it well clear of my eyes.

On the morning of day 5 I received a letter from Ultralase. It was a coversheet and an information page for me to give to my doctor which detailed the surgery I had undergone. I dropped it in at the doctors and ended up having a chat with one of the nurses about the surgery. She's always thought about having it done and was interested to meet someone who'd only just had it done.

Day of laser eye surgery

First off, I 'm touch typing this without looking much so please excuse the typos. I'll come back and edit later. Oh and it's not that I can't see, it's just that I'm conscious of resting my eyes as much as possible. To let them heal and that. Anyway on to the big event...

Took the train in to Chelmsford station - yet again my appointment was around rush hour so it seemed far easier, and I'd been advised that so long as I had someone with me I'd be fine to take the train home. The first thing I did in the Ultralase clinic was sign my lifetime guarantee contract, and read through the form to declare I wanted to go ahead with the surgery, had been advised of the risks etc. Once that was done I had a few minutes to wait (I had got there a bit early), before being taken off by the surgeon tso she could look at my eyes and ask if I had any allergies, medical conditions, or "anything I wanted to tell her" I thought about confessing the time I stole a toy cat from playschool when I was about four, but thought I'd keep that to myself. She ran me through what would happen in the procedure - super efficient typical doctor speak running it off like it was nothing at all. She also mentioned that the astigmatism in my right eye made my prescription quite big (in total it's about -4 which isn't that big considering), and she said upfront that this might mean we need to tweak it to get it right. Oh well, if I have to come back so be it. With Ultralase's lifetime guarantee I knew I wouldn't have to pay again.

Back out into thte waiting room. It seemed like they had a fair few procedures booked for that day, and I rememer sharing a few nervous glances with others who were clearly about to have surgery too. I wouldn' say I was nervous, more excited and just anxious to get it all over with.

After a while I was taken through by a nurse to be 'prepped' for surgery. This involved having anisthetic drops put into my eyes, little blue bags over my shoes and my hair put back into a net. I also had browny yellow solution - idodine I think it was - put over my eyelids to make them super clean. At this point my glasses came off, hopefully for the last time. The nurse ran me through what would happen in the operation room and also the things I needed to do post surgery. She gave me a little goodie bag with six little bottles of solutions (3 sets of drops, 1 per eye to reduce the risk of cross-contamination). She also gave me my night shields and tape and showed me how to fix them on. I'll post a pic on here for you soon.

The bottles were: Red labelled antibiotics to be taken every 2 hours for 48hrs and then 4 times a day for a week. Pink labelled anti-inflammatories to be taken the same as the red bottle but leaving 5 minutes in between the drops so as not to dilute them. Then a green labelled bottle which is basically artificial tears. I'm to take these ones as and when. I thought I'd never remember any of this but of course it was all written out on information sheets for me to take away.

We kept hearing a blasting noise - the nurse told me this was the laser being used or warmed up. It was quite a loud zapping noise kind of like an x-ray machine I suppose.

And then...waiting. The surgeon was the only surgeon in that day and it seemed that everyone wanted her opinion on consultations etc. so she was running a bit late. I just wanted it all over with but tried to wait patiently. Then a song came on the radio that made me chuckle. I can't remember who it's by or what it's called but the first line is 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone...' and I knew my surgery was going to be soon.

I was finally called in. A bit nervous, but mostly relieved that the waiting was over. I had to lie down on a long bed, and a cushion was put under my knees to keep me comfortable. Someone asked me if I was ok and then someone else asked me to confirm my name and what type of surgery I was in for. There were little lights on the bottom of a machine above me. I had to look at them and then they went down. And then the fun began.

Okay let's face it, it wasn't fun. But I'll try to run you through an emotion free experience. First off my left eyes was covered up, then my right eye was prepared with surgical tape / bandage above and below. Next an instrument was put in to keep my eye open. This was uncomfortable as it was put in and taken out but once in a bit weird but fine. Next up they put something onto my eye to increase the pressure (this is unique to intralase and possibly standard Lasik I believe), this was pretty uncomfortable. It pressed onto my eyeball and seemed to press back into my skull. When the pressure was up I lost vision. I expected this to be scarey but actually it wasn't really. I had every confidence that my vision would be coming back. The discomfort lasted about 10 seconds and then I was swung under the intralase device. I couldn't feel a thing - except maybe a bit of pressure pushing my head back into the bed and then the pressure was released. At this point my vision came back, but not very clearly. I could feel someone fiddling and taking the flap up for the laser to do it's thing. Next I had to look at a light.

I've read people saying this but in my imagination it was a little dot of light. Actually it ws more like a hundred little lights that were clearly just the one light, it's just my vision was all over the place. The surgeon told me to look up a few times but I really had no idea where I was looking so I just tried until she said it was fine and to hold it there. Then there were three blasts of the laser. Someone advised me I might smell burning but I didn't notice it. I was too busy trying to keep my head still. After the laser bursts some solution was put in my eye and the flap replaced. Then finally the device to keep my eye open was removed and it felt much better.

Except now I had to go through it all on the other eye! At this point I realised that it was going to be worse because I knew what was coming. I've read people say this on the Ultralase forums but I guess you only really believe it when you're rught there experiencing it for yourself. So yes my left eye was a little worse.

There was a point during the procedure when I thought 'oh what am I doing?' but it was a brief flash and I knew exactly what I was doing. I was having the need for glasses and contact lenses removed from my life.

The procedure went ahead with my left eye. The uncomfortable clamp, the short discomfort of the pressure device and then the release as the laser has cut the flap. It really was so quick though. Discomfort or not, 20 minutes and it's all over.

When I was told I could get up I think I shot up so fast - glad to get away I guess - but then as I was about to get to my feet I realised I should take it slow incase I went wobbly. My body would likely be in a mild kind of shock. So I took it slowly following the nurse out of the room and into a recovery room. My vision was watery, slightly blurry, but at the same time I knew it would be great once it had healed. I could see the clock and the sign on the door. In the recovery room I sat on a reclining chair and the nurse went off to get me a cup of water and my boyfriend.

I chatted to him for a few minutes and looked around me, amazed, before my right eye started stinging and I had to keep it closed as it began to water. My left eye followed a few minutes later. I'd read descriptions of it being like chopping onions. It was at first, but then in short bursts it felt a little worse than that. As if I'd been chopping onions and then touched my eye with onion juice. If that makes any sense. I started to worry that I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes open enought to get to the train station, but then tried to relax, sit back and just do what my body was telling me to do - keep my eyes closed.

I was there for almost an hour before the surgeon called me through and I struggled to keep my eyes open enough to look at the chart. I read out on line, I could see below this but struggle to keep my eyes open long enought. It turned out the line I'd read out fairly easily was driving standard anyway. WOOHOO! Then she looked at my eyes under the microscope and told me they looked fine. I was free to go home, and should sleep for the rest of the day. 'You can drive home' she joked, looking at me struggling to open my eyes more than a little chink. Umm, maybe not.

I went back to the recovery room, got my bag and headed outside. My boyfriend had told me my eyes looked bloodshot and when I went to the bathroom before setting off I tried to sneak a look, as much as I could when my eyes just wanted to be closed. They looked very red. Most of the white in my left eye especially. It made the pain feel a little worse to look (purely psychological I know) so I stopped looking.

Sunglasses on I went out into the street, having to be guided by my boyfriend. I had my eyes closed a lot of the way, I could not keep my eyes open for long. They were streaming and pretty sore. When we got to the car I remember the sunlight was so bright, even with sunglasses and my eyes closed. It was like walking on a bright white beach and I could almost feel the burning of the laser on my eyes.

Once home, we put my first sets of drops in and I lay on the bed with an audiobook on my ipod. After a little while I got into the bed and dozed on and off. I did this for about three hours and after that my eyes were much better. It still felt better to keep them closed more than open but they weren't streaming.

I was well enough to go round to my parent's house for tea. Although I had my eyes closed for the whole car journey. When I did open my eyes I was amazed with the vision. Absolutely fantastic so soon after surgery!

I went to bed early, my boyfriend woke me up to put my last set of drops in as he came to bed and I remember waking up and looking at him - vision absolutely clear on the moment of waking. But I'm not thinking about my vision at this point. I'm working on the healing. Trying to drink 2 litres of water, taking omega 3 pills and closing my eyes as much as possible. I've not watched television or read, and althouhg I'm sneaking looks at the pc screen as I write this, my eyes are closed more than often. It's too important to mess about.

Anyway, so that was my day of surgery. I went for my check up today, but I'll write all about that tomorrow. For now I'm back to closing my eyes.

Ultralase pre-surgery courtesy

I had a courtesy call from Ultralase while I was at work this morning. They wanted to double check the time and details of my appointment and to run through the surgery day. For example I'm not allowed to wear make up (on the day or for two weeks afterwards), I can't wear perfume on the day and also I shouldn't wear my soft contact lenses for a certain amount of time prior to surgery. No problem there as I haven't had mine in for two weeks now. I thought it was really nice of them to call. It seemed reassuring, and obviously a sign of a well-organised company.

Oh and she also wanted to double check about how I was going to pay. I'm currently plucking up the courage to pay with my card online or by phone. I just haven't worked up the courage to say goodbye to all those possibilities - holidays, new shoes, etc. etc. But I suppose I better had. No pay, no spec free. Actually when I mentioned to someone at work that I had to pay in advance they pulled 'ooh isn't that dodgy' face. Well no, it's not really. I mean if you go to a shop you have to buy your goods before you can leave with them. Do they think Ultralase should just zap all who come through their doors and then invoice them afterwards? Sadly life doesn't work like that.

I'm getting seriously excited having the surgery done now. A flash of nerves yes, but then a great torrent of oh wowo owowowow no more glasses! I've done my research -for example the Ultralase forums have a whole section devoted to The Treatment Day, amongst many others and that means I know I'm not in for any nasty surprises.

Only 4 more days to go!